SAN FRANCISCO – As market conditions are making it easier and less costly to send money home for immigrants in the U.S., the Inter-American Dialogue released a report showing that remittance service providers are offering a wider variety of services and are expanding into more countries.
The study, A Scorecard in the Market for Money Transfers, conducted by the Inter-American Dialogue (IAD), the premier U.S. center for analyzing remittance trends and services, also found an increase in product services such as cash-to-cash and cash-to-bank account as companies seek to be more competitive.
The study released on June 18, 2010, measuring 16 indicators, ranked Xoom.com as the best company for sending money transfers to Latin America and the Caribbean, outperforming 38 other leading U.S.-based money transfer companies. Xoom.com also received the highest score for customer satisfaction.
Some of the report’s key findings include the high value consumers place on transparency and inexpensiveness when sending their remittances. “Consumers want to easily be able to see the fees they are paying and the exchange rate their loved ones will be receiving,” said Dr. Manuel Orozco, Director of the Remittances and Development Program at the IAD. “In addition, they of course want to pay the lowest fees. Surprisingly, it looks like consumers are embracing some emerging companies that are doing a good job in these categories. In many categories these companies are earning higher marks than some traditional industry players,” said Orozco.
Xoom.com received the highest scores in both transparency and inexpensiveness. Among the 39 companies in the study, Xoom.com is the only money transfer company that does not require an agent or branch location to send money. Customers use the Internet to enter the monetary amount and beneficiary information, select the country and pay partner, pay for the transaction using a checking account or credit card, and even track the transaction. Consumers are also able to see the fee and foreign exchange rate upfront allowing them to see the exact amount that will be received by their family members. Additionally, Xoom.com provides lower fees than traditional marketplace competitors.
Xoom.com ranked first in three of the five categories for customer satisfaction: fee transparency, foreign exchange transparency and customer value. In addition, the company tied for first in the category of least expensive and was a close first in ease of use.
“We are happy that consumers recognize and appreciate the transparency and overall value of our service,” said Eugenio Nigro, Vice-President of Business Development, Latin America. “Because we are an online company, our customers have the power to control their money transfer from start to finish and track it every step of the way,” said Nigro.
